PORT ANGELES — Construction has begun on a major overhaul to West 10th Street between N and I streets on the west side of Port Angeles.
The busy arterial was closed to non-local traffic Monday and will remained closed until the work is completed in late October or November, city officials said.
Alternates are available on West Fourth and West 18th streets.
The crumbling 0.6-mile section of West 10th Street between I and N streets will be completely rebuilt as part of the grant- and taxpayer-funded project, which was identified as a top priority in the city’s Transportation Improvement Plan.
“It’s huge project for Port Angeles,” city engineer and project manager Jonathan Boehme said in a Wednesday interview.
“Tenth Street has been a street that’s needed serious work for a number of years now, so were really excited to have the available funding.”
A sidewalk will be added to the north side of 10th Street, providing a “great safety benefit” for students walking to and from Hamilton Elementary School, Boehme said.
New driveway entrances, curb, gutter and stormwater conveyance will be installed between M and N streets.
Aging water mains will be replaced and a new sewer crossing will be built at 10th and L streets to provide for future connections, city officials said.
Once completed, West 10th Street will have two vehicle lanes and two bicycle lanes between N and I streets.
The City Council awarded a $2.52 million construction contract to low-bidder Lakeside Industries of Port Angeles on July 3.
The city received a $1.25 million grant from the state Transportation Improvement Board to help pay for the improvements.
The city matched the grant with $504,999 in voter-approved transportation benefit district funding, real estate excise taxes and stormwater and water utility funds, according to city documents.
City voters approved a 0.2 percent sales tax increase in August 2017 to fund the transportation benefit district. West 10th Street had been identified as the No. 1 priority for the taxing district.
“We’re shooting for being done by the end of October,” Boehme said of the weather-dependent construction.
“At this point, our best expectations are that they would be completed by Oct. 26.”
Meanwhile, another city-hired crew has begun installing safety fencing along the Eighth Street bridges.
West Eighth Street is closed to eastbound traffic over both bridges. Westbound traffic is being maintained and one sidewalk is open to pedestrians.
Businesses remain open during construction.
The safety fencing is being installed by Interwest Construction of Sequim, which submitted a low bid of $770,000.
A community block party is planned for Sept. 19 — a Wednesday — to dedicate the re-opening of the Eighth Street bridges, City Council member Cherie Kidd has announced.
There will be live music on each bridge, food vendors, chalk art and free root beer floats at the Sept. 19 event, Kidd said.
“Mark your calendars with a big red circle,” Kidd told the City Council last week.
“When the fences are complete, we’re going to have a community party to celebrate the new bridges, and it’s going to be wonderful.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
